Tonight's Movies: The Boob (1926) and Why Be Good? (1929) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

One of the most recent Blu-ray releases from the Warner Archive Collection is a two-film "Silent Classics Double Feature" set containing THE BOOB (1926) and WHY BE GOOD? (1929).

THE BOOB was previously released by the Warner Archive as a single-title DVD in 2009, and WHY BE GOOD? followed with a DVD release in 2014.

THE BOOB is a goofy yet entertaining 64-minute comedy directed by William A. Wellman. I'm always happy to see Wellman's name in the credits and was glad to check off another title from his list of credits.

Farm boy Peter (George K. Arthur) is dismayed when his sweetheart Amy (Gertrude Olmstead) falls hard for Harry Benson (Antonio D'Algy) and plans to marry him.

Little do either Amy or Peter know that Harry is a bootlegger pursued by "one of Uncle Sam's crack revenue agents," Jane (Joan Crawford).

The movie is pretty silly but entertaining enough to sustain a little over an hour. I especially enjoyed not only the young Crawford as the stern, brave law enforcement officer but the "Booklovers Club" roadhouse with liquor hidden away in books lining the shelves.

The film has a piano score by Arthur Barrow which dates from 2003 and is appropriate in tone for the movie.

The movie was filmed by William Daniels, and for a movie released not quite a century ago it looks very good indeed.

WHY BE GOOD? has become a favorite which I've now seen multiple times, including at the 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival; I previously reviewed it here in 2016, and I'd like to suggest readers also visit that review for a more detailed look at the film.

The movie stars Colleen Moore as Pert Kelly, a department store clerk who lives it up at night as a "jazz baby" partier, although in reality she's a "good" girl holding out for the right man.

Pert and wealthy Winthrop Peabody Jr. (Neil Hamilton) fall for each other, but Winthrop's father (Edward Martindel) questions Pert's virtue.

It's a fast-paced, enjoyable, and even thought-provoking story with a gorgeous Art Deco setting.  Moore is a lot of fun in the leading role, and it's enjoyable watching Hamilton (of TV's BATMAN) as the leading man.

WHY BE GOOD? is the longer film of this set, running 84 minutes. It was directed by William A. Seiter and filmed by Sidney Hickox. The disc uses the film's original Vitaphone synchronized score.

Like THE BOOB, WHY BE GOOD? looks very nice for its age. There are no extras on the disc for either film.

I love the idea of combining two relatively short silents into a single set. While THE BOOB is just mildly entertaining, I thought of it as a nice "extra" included with the very fun and rewatchable WHY BE GOOD?, adding to this release's value. I hope we see similar two-film discs released by the Warner Archive Collection going forward.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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